LEE ERWIN is hoping that working under Jim Goodwin at St Mirren can help him reach his potential after bagging a goal against Celtic on his first start for the club.

The striker has led a nomadic existence since leaving Motherwell for Leeds United as a youngster, taking in spells at Kilmarnock and Ross County as well as a short stay in Iran with Tractor.

But he is now hoping that he has found a club and a manager in Goodwin where he can rediscover the spark that earned him that big move early in his career.

“I’m at the stage in my career now where I need to play regularly," Erwin said. "You want that at any age but I need to be going into a Saturday knowing I’ve got a good chance of playing.

“Do I feel my career has stalled a little bit? Definitely. I could sit here and say I made the wrong decision to go abroad but you don’t know about these things until you actually try them.

“I’m just looking to get back playing week in and week out. When you don’t play, when you feel you’ve merited it, then it’s difficult and disappointing. But this is a fresh start for me and I’ll be working hard.

“You see some of the moves that are happening these days so I think every player should have ambition.

“I need to come here, work hard and do well. But you never know. Football is a crazy game and in six months’ time you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Erwin was delighted to open his account so early for the Saints and get that particular monkey off his back.

“As a striker you want to score and get up and running as quickly as possible," he said.

“I’m happy it’s only taken me two games but to be honest I felt I could have had another one in the second half with the shot I put over the bar.

“We had a good start to the game and then conceded two goals which could have been easily avoided.

“We went in at half-time feeling we didn’t do a lot wrong.

“But I felt the overall performance was good as we have to take that into our game on Saturday.”